Stargate: Insurrection
by Tigerlily Brown
Summary: Three years after the Atlantis expedition comes to a close and its members have moved on, there's trouble in the Pegasus galaxy...
1. Chapter 1

A dog barked.

"Shut it, Diego," a voice said. The man patted the scruffy gray dog, grabbed a socket wrench from the top garage shelf, and turned up the volume on the radio. Humming under his breath to Johnny Cash, he returned to the hood of a beat-up red sports car and reached inside with two calloused, ringless hands.

The Pueblo sun was glaring, making him swipe at his sweaty forehead every few seconds, but here he felt right at home outside his small, gray-bricked house with nothing to disturb him but his cars, his music, and his mutt curled up in the garage.

That is, until he heard the sound of a car pulling up alongside the gravel road. He ignored it at first, but when a woman got out and tentatively walked up the driveway, he straightened up. She wore an iridescent violet bodice and jeans, with long caramel-colored hair and skin to match.

"Teyla," he said blankly, grabbing a rag to wipe his hands on. "What are you doing here?"

He hid his shock well.

She smiled encouragingly as she approached. "Cannot an old friend simply come to visit?"

"Not out of the blue after two years without calling first."

"Three years," She corrected.

Sheppard shook his head. "Three," he sighed and tossed the rag into the garage behind him. It landed on the large, bedraggled-looking dog, who awakened immediately and bounded over to greet their new guest.

"That's Diego," he said as Teyla knelt to pet the dog rubbing affectionately against her leg. "Not actually mine. I just can't get it to leave me alone."

"Diego?" Teyla said with a small smile. "John, this dog is a female."

"I know," he shrugged. "I named her before I checked."

She laughed as Diego rolled over to be petted on her soft, white belly. "She is very sweet."

John watched silently, taking in the melodious laughter that echoed against the cement garage floor. Suppressing the pang of nostalgia that surfaced, he set his toolbox on the garage shelf loudly. "Teyla," he said curtly, "Not that I'm not happy to see you, but what exactly do you want? I ignore my phone calls for a reason."

Before she could speak, he cut her off.

"I'm not going back."

Teyla smiled sadly, as if she had been expecting this reaction, and glanced back down at Diego with watery eyes. "Then let us at least talk for a while. It has been so long."

He exhaled heavily and let his head drop as if reluctant, but she could see the slightest smile he was hiding.

…

_48 Hours Earlier_

"No way," cried a dark-haired woman as she spooned a chunk of blue gelatin into her mouth. "The blue Jell-O is so much better than red." She crossed her legs over the lap of the man next to her. "Don't you agree, Muscles?"

The Jaffa raised an eyebrow and tilted his head. "On the contrary, Vala Mal Doran. I have always preferred green."

"Green?" scoffed Dr. McKay between mouthfuls of his meal. "We never have green."

"But if you had to pick," Vala said, twirling her spoon between her sinuous fingers. "Blue or red?"

Teal'c frowned, pausing in thought. "Red."

"Ha!" Rodney cried triumphantly. "Score one for Dr. Rodney McKay." He smiled saccharinely at Vala. "Don't worry, I won't say I told you so."

She pouted, rolling her eyes dramatically as she tossed her empty Jell-O container into the trash can a janitor pushed along the mess hall aisle. "If Sam were here, she'd agree with me."

The sounding of an alarm interrupted their conversation. "Unauthorized off-world activation!" a familiar voice announced over the loudspeaker.

Exchanging glances, the trio stood and left their plates, heading for the control room.

…

"Chevron seven locked," said Chief Harriman as the back wall of the gate room was lit by a faint blue light. "Wormhole established."

"Who is it?" Ronon asked, tying back his mane of dreadlocks as he hopped up the steps to join the small crowd in the control room.

"I'm not receiving an IDC," Walter said, hands running across the keyboard. "But there is an audio and video transmission coming through. Initializing now."

As the computer screen beside him flickered to life, a smirking face appeared – one with mottled green skin, ragged white hair, and black markings about one eye. "Hello, friends of Earth," the wraith announced in a gravelly, sinister voice.

"Get General Mitchell," Walter ordered to no one in particular. "Now."

Vala reentered the control room seconds later, dragging Mitchell behind her. His eyes widened in recognition. "Don't tell me that's who I think it is," he warned. "Todd?"

"Yes," said the wraith on the video screen. "I'm so pleased to see you all haven't forgotten me. After all, it's been so many years since I've had the pleasure."

"Yeah, yeah, we missed you too," Mitchell snapped sarcastically. "What is it?"

"Very well. Straight to the point." Todd cleared his throat. "I have heard your people speak of a race of beings you defeated whose followers were… well… exceptionally passionate. The Ori." He paused for a moment, as if for dramatic effect. "I have contacted you as a warning. This image was taken from the very planet my ship is currently orbiting." Todd stepped aside, revealing a satellite image projected on the wall behind him. A crowd of people, thousands at least, was gathered around a small but very noticeable blue light.

"That's a Prior," Vala whispered. "In the Pegasus galaxy?"

"Yes, my dear," said Todd, still off-screen. "The Ori are back."

…

_24 Hours Later_

Lieutenant Colonel Paul Davis turned the lights back on with a touch of the remote, leaving the projector screen paused on the end of Todd's transmission. He straightened the ornaments on his dress uniform sleeve and glanced out at the small audience gathered in the Stargate Command conference room. As a tentative hand raised in the back of the room, Davis pointed to the young scientist. "Go ahead."

"Pardon me, sir," she said, "but how do we know we can trust this… um… Todd? He is a wraith, after all."

Teyla spoke up. "Todd is unlike others of his kind, Dr. Cornyn," she explained. "While he is a wraith, yes, and it cannot be said that he has never double-crossed us in the past, Todd has never acted in a way that would bring us to harm without some good coming from the situation. The Atlantis expedition saw many successful missions thanks to his assistance."

Davis nodded, adding, "We believe he's desperate. He's never tried to contact us before, and it's been nearly three years since we left Atlantis. Todd will be watched carefully, but we have no reason to believe his intentions are malicious. Additionally, we've made contact with a few other friendly societies in the Pegasus galaxy. They corroborate Todd's story. Are there any other questions, while we're at it?"

A male doctor raised a hand after no one else spoke. "Forgive my ignorance on the subject, but what's the problem with Origin? Why do we need to destroy it so badly?"

Davis gestured to Daniel, who sat in the front row. "Dr. Jackson, would you care to explain? You are our resident expert."

"It isn't the religion that's the problem," Daniel said, running a hand over his sandy, close-cropped hair. "In and of itself, Origin's teachings are full of wisdom and righteousness. The Book of Origin is strikingly similar to most of Earth's religious texts. But the Ori's greed for power ultimately led to the Priors, the Ori's priests, abusing their power as well. Somehow they've been brainwashed to think that anyone who doesn't believe must be killed."

"And that misinterpretation nearly led to the destruction of the entire galaxy," Colonel Davis finished for him. "We're all here to make sure that doesn't happen again."

After a short silence, a Marine standing in the back of the room asked, "How do we plan to destroy the Ori again, sir?"

"Excellent question." The projector switched to an image of an old wooden chest with a metal design inlaid on the lid. "The device known as the Ark of Truth, which was used six years ago to disconnect the Priors from their obsession with the Ori, has been destroyed. After study at Area 51, an attempt to manipulate it for other uses resulted in the, er, mental incapacitation of all who tampered with it. It was agreed that the device was too powerful, and it was incinerated. That option," he shrugged remorsefully, "is no longer available. However, the President has reviewed our situation and sanctioned a mission with the purpose of stopping the Priors again." He touched the remote and the image on the screen changed again. "A mission to Atlantis."

It was as if one giant collective gasp lifted smiles onto the faces on the room.

"I am _so _there," Ronon grunted.

General Mitchell, sitting next to Davis at the front of the room, grinned enthusiastically. "On behalf of the Pentagon, Colonel Davis has been working with me to prepare a preliminary list of who we'd like on the mission. Keep in mind that the list can be changed – anyone who is not on the list is still eligible to go, provided we approve, and you can certainly be removed if you see fit."

"I'm on it, right?" Ronon asked quickly.

Mitchell threw him a wry glance. "Read on, Colonel."

Taking out a crisp sheet of paper, Davis began to read the list. "Dr. Rodney McKay, to head up Science and Research. We'd like you to test your new ZPM power regeneration system. You're free to pick your team of scientists."

Rodney nodded gruffly. "Right. I'm going to need Dr. Lee, uh, Hodges and Sullivan, Escobedo, and anyone who's had a fair amount of work with Ori technology."

"Done."

Once he thought the attention was elsewhere, Rodney grinned and pumped his fist.

Davis continued. "Colonel Albert Reynolds, Major Evan Lorne, Ronon Dex –"

Ronon punched Rodney in the shoulder and laughed gleefully. "We're going back to Atlantis!"

Davis smiled appreciatively and continued. "Teal'c."

"As much as I would be honored to see the great city of Atlantis once more, Colonel Davis," Teal'c said in response, "I have recently received word that Master Bra'tac has fallen gravely ill. He was not only a mentor, but also a father to me, and so I wish to be at his side during his final days. And so I must respectfully decline."

"Of course," Mitchell nodded. "Send Bra'tac our best."

Teal'c bowed his head respectfully. "Thank you, General Mitchell."

Davis continued on the list. "Dr. Daniel Jackson."

"If I may, while I'm there I'd like to expand my research on what I believe was a failed attempt at ascension by the Ancients," Daniel put forward.

"Very well. Russian representative–"

"Whoa, hang on a minute," Vala interrupted. "If Daniel's going, I want to go too! I know just as much about the Ori as he does. Well…" She corrected herself, "Maybe not _quite _as much."

"Very well," Davis nodded, suppressing a grin and adding her name to the list. "Vala Mal Doran. Russian representative Dmitriy Kolenkhov. All Marines called here today have been chosen to lead a team of four. We expect your choices by Friday at the latest. We have yet to decide who our chief physician will be and, as per the IOA's request, they will be selecting one member to accompany you." The audience exchanged skeptical glances, and a few groans were heard. "And finally… Where's Colonel Sheppard?"

Teyla looked questioningly at Mitchell, who cringed and waved her out as Davis drew a circle around Sheppard's name on the list.

…

"The hive is charging weapons," said the wraith technician who stood at the veined, knobby control panel. "It seems that those on the planet have yet to detect our presence. Even if their mechanisms could sense us, we are running on minimal power."

Todd shook his head, watching on the screen as another hive ship approached and prepared to fire on the planet below. "And the ship?"

"They are unaware as well."

He nodded approvingly, a gnarled hand stroking his white beard. "Very good."

The ship he watched fired upon the planet, but it took only a few seconds for the enemy to defend itself.

On the planet below, a robed Prior with pale skin and cloudy eyes looked sharply up, then held up his staff and tapped it once on the dusty ground. Energy bursts erupted from the tip, firing back at the attacking hive.

The charges hit the hull's critical centers; it was defeated in seconds.

Todd let out a disapproving grunt. "Get us out of here."

…

_Present_

The cement corridors of Stargate Command looked the same as they always had. The people in them, however, were a little disconcerting: Sheppard barely recognized half of them. He glanced down at his t-shirt and jeans, feeling uncomfortably out of place in the sea of BDUs.

It was only when Sergeant Siler, carrying a large wrench, nodded in greeting and said, "Morning, Colonel Sheppard," as if nothing had changed that Sheppard began to feel more at ease.

As he stepped into the elevator, he was welcomed by another friendly face. "Dr. Keller! It's good to see you again."

She squeezed his shoulder with lithe fingers, a smile brightening her round face. "You too, Colonel Sheppard. But actually, it's Dr. McKay now."

He blinked. "You're kidding."

"Nope," she said, cheeks dusted pink, as the elevator doors closed.

"You two got _married_?"

"Going on two years now."

"Wow. Congratulations, I guess," he said, folding his hands behind his back and frowning at the elevator wall. "Any kids?"

"No, not yet, but we're hoping." She paused, pushing a stray bang out of her face and looking him up and down. "You know, we wanted to invite you to the wedding, but no one could figure out where you lived."

"Yeah, I…" He stuck his hands in his pockets awkwardly and cleared his throat. "I drifted for a while. I went back home to the northeast, spent some time in Texas. They have great fishing down there, by the way, and the barbeque is _amazing_. But I've been fixing cars in Pueblo for a while now."

"Pueblo – that's nearby, isn't it? Couldn't tear yourself away forever, could you?" she teased.

He shrugged. "What about you? Have you been here all this time?"

"No, I've been running a private practice in Colorado Springs. When Rodney told me they hadn't decided on a chief physician for the expedition… well, here I am!" She laughed, "I've been dabbling in wraith physiology on the side, so I don't think I'm too rusty."

Muffled through the elevator doors, they could just hear the words "Unauthorized off-world activation!"

The doors opened again at level 28. Sheppard frowned as he exited the elevator. Drawing closer to the control room, he could make out a few sentences. "…The first real clash involving the wraith that I'm aware of. The attacking ship was destroyed almost instantly. Clearly they understand our technology." The voice was that of a wraith.

As Sheppard entered the control room, he caught a glimpse of Todd's face on the screen and the others gathered around to listen. "What the hell is this?"

"Ah," Todd chuckled. "John Sheppard. I wondered when I'd be seeing you again…"

* * *

_A/N: I found this story on an old computer COMPLETELY FINISHED from 2010 that I had forgotten about! After rereading it, I'm really proud of how well the story arc and character voices match the "real" Atlantis. _

_To my recollection, the general canon is correct. However, I didn't watch past the second episode of Universe, so there may be some differences. _

_Stay tuned for more chapters as we get the gang back together!_


	2. Chapter 2

Brigadier General Cameron Mitchell sat at his desk in the commanding office of the SGC, his hands – more accustomed to a trigger than a pen – now inscribing signature after signature on what he sure thought was an unreasonably hefty stack of paperwork.

Sheppard leaned against the open doorway and rapped his knuckles against the wall.

General Mitchell looked up from the paperwork on his desk, a smile growing as he exclaimed, "Hey, hey, hey, if it isn't Colonel John Sheppard. Aren't you a sight for sore eyes?"

"Retired Colonel," he corrected.

"Not for long, I hope." Mitchell stood and shook his hand vigorously. "You'll disappoint quite a lot of people if you don't come back. People are already betting on whether you'll 'pull an O'Neill,'" he said with air quotes. When Sheppard merely stood in front of the desk, unamused, Mitchell gestured to the chair. "Take a seat. It's been too long."

His enthusiasm and animated Southern accent were refreshing after years of solitude and apathy, but still Sheppard hesitated. "We'll see." He sat in the leather chair across from the desk. "No one thought it was important to mention that we'd be working with Todd again."

"Naw." Mitchell shook his head. "Don't tell me _that's_ going to change your mind."

Sheppard pursed his lips. "We'll see."

Mitchell raised an eyebrow, a slight smile creeping up. "You're not a very good liar, John. I know you and the IOA got crossways but I'll bet you're jumping up and down like a little kid inside." When Sheppard remained skeptically silent, Mitchell pulled a thick file folder. "Everything you missed from the briefing," he said, dropping the bursting folder in front of Sheppard. "Read it."

Sheppard flipped open the cover curiously, scanned the page, and looked up suddenly. "I don't think I'll be able to go."

"Really." Mitchell leaned back in his chair, expression expectant.

"See, I have this dog. Really she's just a stray, but I can't get her to go away," Sheppard offered. "I can't leave her alone all that time. She'll starve."

Mitchell grinned. "Don't worry, I'll make sure someone takes good care of your dog." He tossed a small round patch, adorned with the Atlantis expedition logo and a large Roman numeral II, on top of the file folder. "Welcome back, Sheppard."

…

"Good luck, everybody. And Godspeed."

After a last salute to General Mitchell and Chief Harriman, Colonel Sheppard led each member of his expedition team through the stargate, each carrying their assigned luggage and equipment.

One by one they emerged from the event horizon. The lights of the Atlantis gate room flicked on as it detected each new presence, as if the city had been waiting patiently for them to return.

"Wow," Colonel Reynolds said, staring in admiration at the high ceilings, intricate textures, and grand, unfamiliar design. "I don't know what I expected, but… wow."

"Come on," Ronon said eagerly, dropping his bags and jogging to a side door which opened automatically. "You need to see this."

Reynolds, along with a few others excited to explore, followed Ronon to a balcony overlooking the city's lover levels and the glimmering sea below. "There's something you don't see every day," Reynolds breathed, his face lit up by a smile almost childish in its awe. Someone's quiet sigh could be heard over the lapping waves.

"Beautiful, isn't she?" Ronon said to no one in particular.

"Who?" McKay asked, already tinkering with control crystals in the wall.

Jennifer chided him with a gentle smack on the arm. "Rodney, the city. Look."

"Oh," he breathed involuntarily as he turned to see the gleaming city landscape. "That is beautiful. I'd forgotten…"

She put a hand on his shoulder as they leaned against the balcony, silent for a moment. "Come on, Rodney. Let's go help set up," she said, almost hesitant to break the precious stillness.

Inside, Sheppard was barking orders to the crowd, a flurry of excitement. "Take your personal items and head to the south wing quarters. Those of you who know where to go, lead the way. Quarter assignments will be made shortly."

"Who wants to bunk with me?" Vala called with a teasing smile, eying a well-built Marine standing nearby. She earned herself a glare from Daniel, who was already poring over his notes on Ancient research. He hissed, "I thought we talked about behaving yourself."

…

The Atlantis teams' first mission was to M75-771. The Agorans were a hardy people, capable of manufacturing sturdy buildings and simple tools for farming, but had achieved little in the manner of technology. The people were brown from the sun and patient from years of hard labor; they wore simple garments of leather and coarse cloth. The Lantean exploration team was greeted by a woman with white-streaked hair and weathered hands. She identified herself as Lena, the leader of the village adjacent to the stargate. This small colony was the only known habitation on the planet.

New conflict as well as opportunity arose when the team learned that the Agorans had recently been visited by a Prior of the Ori.

Colonel Reynolds' strategic mind and keen eye for shooting made him the quintessential military leader, but he willingly handed the reins over on issues of culture. Dr. Jackson stood at the head of the group standing near the stargate, speaking to the village leader: "You have to understand, despite what the Priors may claim, the Ori aren't gods. In fact, they aren't even around any more. They've died just like any normal human would. Even the ascended aren't invulnerable."

Lena shook her head. "But they can do many wondrous things," she insisted. "How else could they have been granted such abilities other than by the gods?"

"What kind of things did they show you?" Daniel asked.

"They made fire right into the palm of her hand," she said, holding her own hand out, "and sent it down to burn the grass. They could cure the sick and make the crippled walk again. I have told you of my son, who has made great progress in medicine for treating illnesses in our livestock, but even he cannot match their powers. Some say the Prior's staffs are magical."

"You can create fire, can't you? How else would you cook your food?"

"We can, but it takes much work, and we cannot control it as they do."

"Even so, all of these things can be accomplished through the use of technology – nothing more than science, like the medicine your son experiments with. You're a progressing society – soon you'll be able to do everything the Priors are doing. Here." He turned to Colonel Reynolds, who stood behind him with Ronon and Vala. "Lighter." Reynolds tossed him a small silver device, which Daniel opened, revealing a small flickering flame for Lena to see. "You see, we can create fire too."

"And the sick and wounded?"

Daniel frowned. "Vala, do you have the Goa'uld healing device?"

"Right here." She dug it out of her backpack and moved to stand beside him.

"Watch this, Lena," he said, pulling out a knife. He heard her gasp as he ran it down the palm of his hand, wincing as a thin line of blood bubbled up. "Vala," he gestured.

Fitting the orange device onto her hand, Vala ran it over Daniel's palm a few times, her eyes closed in concentration. Lena gasped again.

Daniel held out his hand for her to touch: its surface was perfectly smooth, not even a scar remaining. "You see? Admittedly, this technology is still beyond us, but the point is that it's possible. We – and the people who made this device – are no more gods than the Priors."

Lena pursed her lips tightly, eyes flashing as if she wanted to believe them but was held back. Her fingers traced Daniel's flawless palm one last time. "Very well," she said. "Perhaps you are right. But my people will not back down so easily."

…

"How'd it go?" Sheppard called down from the control room balcony as his team returned.

Reynolds shrugged. "The village leader seemed to believe us, but she said she needs some time to talk to her people. I gave her a GDO in case there's any trouble."

"Good. Debrief in ten. Oh," he added irritably. "And Woolsey's here."

…

The conference room was full; the long mahogany table had been replaced by the circular Lantean counter that originally filled the room. It had been one of Sheppard's first items of paperwork as commanding officer of Atlantis.

"All in all, I'd say the mission was a success," said Colonel Reynolds. "At least we've got ourselves in their heads as allies. And the Ori don't seem to have as strong a grip on the Agorans as they've had on other civilizations in the past."

Sheppard stacked up his papers. "Excellent work. Next mission to PX7-889."

"My team, sir?" Stackhouse spoke up, his promotion to Staff Sergeant borne proudly with young, fresh face and boyish enthusiasm.

"Negative. I need McKay here to work on the power supply. Major Castleman, you and your team check it out. Stackhouse, I'll do some shuffling and replace McKay for the time being. You'll get the next mission."

"Yes, sir."

"Are you sure this is the best plan of action?" Mr. Woolsey asked, glancing restlessly around the room. Despite the traditional Atlantis uniforms that had been dispersed to all members of the expedition, he was still dressed in a stiff black suit. "Traipsing around the galaxy, visiting planets until you happen to run into the Ori or they find out where we are? It doesn't sound like the most logical strategy."

"Well how else would we do it?" McKay snapped.

"We have no idea how strong a hold they have on the people of this galaxy," Sheppard added, "and we need to reestablish contact with our allies. We have no way of doing that without taking trips off world." Before Woolsey could object, he waved a hand. "We're taking every precaution. MALPs are doing extensive scans and we've been bringing at least two military personnel on every mission."

"Or me," Ronon grinned, caressing his customary weapon on the table.

"Very well," Woolsey muttered, tight-lipped.

"Colonel Sheppard," Daniel butted in before Sheppard could end the meeting. "I wanted to ask if you have any science teams free in the meantime. Back at the SGC I was doing research on ascension and I came across documents suggesting that the Ancients may have tried to ascend before they were physiologically ready and… Well, I'll spare you the geekspeak, but I'd like to conduct a search of the city. There might be a lab or a computer console somewhere that has more information."

Sheppard nodded. "I'll assemble a group. Castleman, let me know as soon as your team is ready," he ordered, pushing his chair out to stand up. "Dismissed."

Mr. Woolsey followed him out, cornering him in the hall as they exited the conference room. "Colonel Sheppard, could I have a word?"

"Sure," he shrugged, though his expression was tight.

"I wanted to let you know that you have the IOA's full support."

Sheppard raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Thank you, Mr. Woolsey, but I think we both know I don't need the IOA's support to continue with my work."

When Sheppard turned to continue walking, Woolsey said quickly, "I should warn you, however. The IOA is requiring that I submit regular reports on activities here. If I report something they aren't happy with, there will be no choice but for the association to take a more prominent place in this expedition."

"Well, then, don't report anything they aren't happy with," Sheppard snapped as he walked off.

…

"Good news or bad news?" said Daniel as he entered Sheppard's office.

"You pick," said Sheppard.

"Well, the Agorans on M75-771 were visited by a Prior again, that being the bad news. But," Daniel said with a grin, "we know when they'll be back."

"How long?"

"Three days."

Sheppard nodded resolutely. "Good. Tell Reynolds, Stackhouse, and Lorne to ready the teams; you'll need disguises, anti-Prior devices –"

"You want to try and capture it?"

A mischievous smile crept onto his face. "I've even been working on a name for when we interrogate him."

Confused, Daniel frowned, opening his mouth to say something.

"Inside joke," Sheppard shrugged, recalling the litany of wraith prisoners dubbed Kevin, Bob, and, of course, Todd. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have paperwork to do."

…

"All right!" Sheppard cried as he weaved his way through the crowd in the Atlantis gate room. Many of his men were cloaked and hooded, dressed to blend in with the natives of Agora, and others wore the traditional SGC jumpsuits in camouflage colors. "Make this a clean mission, everybody! We don't need to make a scene. Get in there, grab the Prior, and get out. Understood?"

A chorus answered him, "Yes, sir!"

"Excellent. Chuck, dial the gate."

"Dialing," he announced.

Rodney gingerly placed his pistol in its holster. "Colonel, are you sure you… you don't want to come?"

"I didn't say I didn't _want _to come," Sheppard shook his head. "Come on, you guys'll do fine."

He nodded reluctantly.

"And don't worry, I'll make sure Dr. Lee keeps everything under control. I need to know that you've got the anti-Prior devices handled on this mission. I'm sure the power system will be fine for a couple of hours."

"Famous last words," Rodney rolled his eyes.

Chuck announced, "Wormhole engaged."

"Good luck," said Sheppard as teams began to file through the gate. "And Godspeed."

…

Rodney, Major Lorne, and the two other soldiers on the team stood towards the back of the crowd, disguised by brown robes. Lorne reached up to tap his radio. "I have a visual on the Prior. Make contact when ready."

As the robed Prior strode through the crowd of Agorans in the marketplace, his eyes staring blankly forward, a chorus of voices sounded in his ear. "Team two ready."

"Team three ready."

"Acknowledged," said Lorne. As the Prior drew closer, he glanced over at Rodney and nodded curtly.

Rodney reached one hand under his cloak and turned on the anti-Prior device. The faint hum felt excruciatingly loud, but neither the crowd nor the Prior seemed to notice.

"Rodney," Lorne whispered. "Nothing's happening."

"Yes, I can see that."

"Isn't he supposed to notice when his fancy powers don't work any more?"

"I don't know what the problem is! Maybe he just doesn't know yet," Rodney hissed.

"Right. Just like _I _didn't notice when I got _you _stuck on my team again."

"Oh, thanks, Major. You always make me feel so warm and fuzzy inside," he rolled his eyes. "Look, we're disguised, everyone else is camouflaged, there's no way they'll notice us. Even if there's a problem, we've got all the time in the world. Right?" He paused, eyes darting frantically between Lorne and the Prior. "Right?" he squeaked.

The Prior cocked his head to one side, colorless lips pursed. "There are intruders among you," he announced to the crowd in a monotone voice. "Show yourselves." With a wave of his hand, a stand of brush was flattened, revealing Daniel, Vala, Ronon, and Colonel Reynolds. Ronon raised his gun to shoot, but Daniel stopped him with a hand on his chest. Eyes wide, they raised their hands slowly.

"Oh, man," Rodney breathed.

…

Sheppard cursed to himself as the lights shut off, leaving his office and the entire gate room pitch black.

"Um, Colonel Sheppard?" said a tentative voice through the radio. "We have a problem."


	3. Chapter 3

"Why aren't the lights turning back on?" Sheppard demanded, shining his flashlight in Dr. Lee's round, mortified face. "They're supposed to sense that we're here."

Lee quivered under his gaze, squinting in the bright light. "Well, you see, I think there might have been a problem–"

"_Might _have been?"

"Yes, well, there _was _a problem with Rodney's ZPM regeneration system. I think when he tied it into Atlantis' main system, he didn't account for the fact that everything in the city would be looped into it. So, when the ZPM overloaded…"

"You're telling me that we have no power at all? Not even backup power?"

"No. I mean, yes. No, we don't have power. What you're saying is correct. So, yes. I think…"

"Dr. Lee, I don't have time for this. We can't dial out, we have no shields and no weapons. This city is completely defenseless."

Lee nodded and said hastily, "I know, I know, but we have a bigger problem." At Sheppard's expectantly raised eyebrows, Lee seemed to deflate. "Life support."

Sheppard grimaced, a hand involuntarily reaching out to smack the wall beside him. "How long?"

"I don't know," Dr. Lee shook his head, his pudgy fingers gesturing frenetically. "Each segment of the city is compartmentalized, separated from all the other parts. Like the lights, life support is only activated when there's actually life there to support. Currently we're only occupying a few small portions of the city, which means that less oxygen has been released. According to the cubic feet and default flow per minute, factoring in the number of people here–"

"The point, please?" Sheppard interrupted impatiently, his posture tense and restless.

Lee pursed his lips in annoyance. "Six hours, maybe eight if we're lucky."

"Six hours? This city is huge! How can we only have six hours of oxygen?"

"When the ZPM overloaded, the city started fire suppression protocol, but the explosion triggered a leak in the bromochlorodiflouromethane system."

"The what?"

"Halon. Fire extinguisher stuff."

"OK, so what's the problem?"

"The failsafe program didn't have time to cordon off the affected area before the power was cut." He paused and shook his head gravely. "Colonel, halon is toxic. It's already polluted most of the oxygen stores. There's nothing I can do."

Sheppard sighed and tapped his radio on. "Attention all personnel, this is Sheppard. We've got a problem."

…

"I already told you," Rodney snapped, tinkering with a black, disc-shaped device. "I've been changing the frequencies. I don't know why it's not working."

He and Major Lorne, alone at the table of a deserted Agoran home, glanced edgily at the Marines hovering by the window. "Well," Lorne said, "you'd better figure something out soon. That Prior's not just going to hang around and wait for us to spring our people out. Eventually he's going to want to take them back with him somewhere."

Rodney merely continued working on the anti-Prior device. "God, I wish Radek were here," he muttered to himself.

"I'm sorry, what did you say?" Lorne asked incredulously, a wry smile on his face.

"Nothing!"

"No, I heard you. You just said you wished Radek Zelenka –"

"Yes, I know what I said, thank you, Major McObvious."

Lorne nodded, still grinning. "I'm going to tell him you said that?"

"You can't do that!"

"Says who? You?"

"Well… yes."

Lorne paused for a moment. "Sanford, are we clear yet?"

"No, sir," answered one of the soldiers by the window. "No clear path to the gate just yet. The Prior's soldiers are still guarding it."

Lorne nodded. "I'll tell you what," he said as he turned back to Rodney. "You fix this, get us out of here, and maybe – _maybe _– I'll consider not saying anything."

Rodney rolled his eyes, mumbling indiscernibly under his breath as he fidgeted with the device.

…

Teyla frowned as she entered the dark gate room, her knife raised. The wormhole disengaged behind here, leaving the empty room unlit. A hand extended, she bent down to find the stairs and felt her way up to the Atlantis control room. Eyes now adjusted to the dark, she pressed a few buttons experimentally. No response. Tapping her radio, she spoke. "Colonel Sheppard?" Hearing no response, she hailed him again. "Colonel Sheppard, please respond. Atlantis, this is Teyla."

Finally, a ragged voice answered. "Teyla, what are you doing here?"

She raised an eyebrow. "I did tell you I would be arriving today to assist. I found it strange that the shield was not raised when I dialed in, but I can see now that there is a situation."

Sheppard rubbed a hand over his face. "Listen, our life support is polluted. Most of us are down by the infirmary, trying to pry open the doors to get to the extra oxygen tanks."

"How did this happen?"

"McKay's ZPM thing overloaded. I'm hoping the _Daedalus _or the _Hammond_ is in the area to come pick us up."

"That is quite a long shot," she said skeptically.

"Just get down here," he snapped into the radio. "We could use an extra pair of hands."

"Wait!" she said suddenly as a ring of pinpoint lights appeared on the stargate. "Someone is dialing in." Having neither the Ancient gene nor the power needed to activate the shield, she hailed the traveler on the radio instead. "This is Atlantis. Identify yourself immediately."

"Teyla?" the voice said.

"Major Lorne," she responded. "The city has lost all power, including life support. I urge you to stay where you are."

"We've got a problem on our end too. The anti-Prior device didn't work and the Prior has Colonel Reynolds' team hostage. We're sitting ducks out here." He glanced quickly over his shoulder, relieved to find the field surrounding the stargate still empty of the Prior or his tagalong followers, at least for now.

"There is little we can do to help you. We cannot dial out, and no device that draws power from the city remains functional."

Lorne paused, lips pursed. "Right. We'll lay low and see if we can fix this on our end."

"Very well. Good luck."

"Teyla," he said before she could turn her radio off. "What are you guys doing to do?"

She shook her head, a sad smile forming. "I do not know, Major. Teyla out."

…

"What…" Rodney shrieked as the door to their hideout banged open. "Major! Jeez, I thought you were a Prior!"

"You'd better fix that thing, McKay," Lorne interrupted, resting both hands on his knees and panting for breath. "We can't go home."

…

"Wait, so we're just going to sit here?" Jennifer cried incredulously, her hands in the air. "Just wait for someone to fly by and figure out that we're in trouble? What are the odds of that happening?"

"Do you have any other ideas?" Sheppard demanded, wedging his fingers in the crack between the infirmary doors. "Obviously, if we can't get these doors open without power, we can't get any extra oxygen. The _Daedalus _is scheduled to be in the area this week." Groaning with the strain, he pulled his hands forcefully apart but failed in prying the doors open. "Chances are they'll pick up some intel for us. When they don't get any power readings, they'll figure out something's wrong and beam us up."

Jennifer laughed deprecatingly. "A week? You said we have six hours, and that was at least an hour ago."

Sheppard collapsed against the wall and slid down to the floor, raking a hand through his unruly black hair.

The small crowd sitting cross-legged outside the barricaded infirmary fell uneasily silent, and it was several minutes before someone spoke again. "Colonel," said Teyla tentatively, "there is another way."

He looked over, eyebrows raised, and gestured vaguely to continue.

"We are currently unable to communicate with either of the 304s in the area or to dial the stargate. However, there is another with whom it is possible to establish contact." She looked meaningfully at him, nodding for him to venture a guess.

"Oh, no," Sheppard said as it dawned on him. "No way, Teyla. We can't trust Todd with this."

"Todd?" Jennifer and Dr. Lee cried in unison.

Mr. Woolsey shook his head abruptly. "I urge you to reconsider, Teyla. This is not a safe course of action."

"Why?" she asked, pacing the corridor. "What have we to lose?"

"How do we know he won't turn on us?" Woolsey demanded. "He could hand us over to the other wraith without a second thought; there would be no turning back."

"That has never stopped us before."

"But then we didn't have any other options," Sheppard intervened, reluctantly taking Woolsey's side.

"And now?" Teyla raised her eyebrows expectantly.

Sheppard stared down the steely determination in her dark eyes and firmly set jaw, finally conceding. "Can you connect with one specific wraith?"

She shook her head. "I have never tried, but I think it is possible, especially since I am so familiar with him."

"This is ridiculous," Woolsey muttered under his breath.

Teyla turned sharply to him, her gaze belittling and almost intimidating at the same time. "You did not object to accepting Todd at his word when he informed us that the Ori were on the rise again," she retorted.

"Yes, but at that point –"

"It may be that my plan is unnecessary," Teyla said calmly. "But I would rather not wait until our six hours are over."

"But –"

"If we are granted access to his ship, you are free to remain here if you feel it is an acceptable risk," she snapped. "We must at least try."

…

Major Marks looked up from his station aboard the _Daedalus_. "Colonel Caldwell, I'm picking up a wraith dart entering the vicinity."

"Just one?" Caldwell replied as he walked over to the bridge window. Squinting, he could barely see a small speck hovering against the starry sky. "What can one dart do? Is it scanning us?"

"No, sir," Marks shook his head, brows furrowing. "But it's sending a radio signal."

Caldwell frowned, watching the speck grow slightly larger. "Put it through." He folded his hands behind his back and spoke into the radio, still staring out the window. "This is Colonel Steven Caldwell, commander of the Earth ship _Daedalus_. Identify yourself."

"I have a special delivery for you," said the wraith from inside the dart. "I suggest you open the bay doors."

"Who am I speaking to?"

"Your people refer to me as Todd."

"And how do I know that if I don't open the 302 bay for you, you won't drop a bomb or a wraith attack crew?" Caldwell glanced uncomfortably back at Major Marks, who shrugged.

Todd chuckled. "Please, Colonel. Why would I bother with the pomp and circumstance?"

Caldwell scoffed.

"My dart is unaccustomed to such a large load. So I suggest that you do as I ask very quickly."

When Caldwell remained stubbornly silent, Todd sighed dramatically. "Colonel Sheppard wishes me to inform you that on December 28, 1975, a game called 'foot ball' ensued between the Dallas Cowboys and Minnesota Vikings, in which a famous pass was thrown by one Roger Staubach. I understand your people know of it as a Hail Mary." He paused, a grin forming on his dappled green face. "Now do you believe me?"

Caldwell sighed, his lips pursed in annoyance. "Very well. Major Marks, open the 302 bay. But I warn you, Todd. If you cross us this time, I will not hesitate to vent the 302 bay and blow you out of the sky."

"Understood," Todd chuckled again and maneuvered his ship towards the _Daedalus_.

…

The dart's transport beam materialized nearly fifty Atlantis personnel. Colonel Sheppard heaved a breath and leaned down, balancing his hands on his knees.

"Colonel," snapped Caldwell, marching forward as Sheppard regained his footing. "What's this all about?"

Looking back at the others, he shrugged. "Well, we had a bit of trouble… I hope you've got quarters free. We'll be here for a while."

…

Digging through his dreadlocks with meaty fingers, Ronon pulled out a small knife and began to sharpen it. He glanced over at Reynolds, who paced the length of metal bars on the opposite wall. The other walls were earthen, and through the bars they could see daylight and the Prior's sparkling white robes as he addressed the Agorans.

"You know," Daniel said, glancing down at Vala, "this never gets old."

Curled up against the wall with her head resting on his shoulder, she looked up at him lazily. "What? Getting captured?"

"Yup. It's really a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and yet here we are, experiencing it _yet again_."

"Daniel," she elbowed him halfheartedly. "They'll figure something out. Rodney's a smart little man."

"Little?" he scoffed, pulling the army green bandanna off his head and rubbing his eyes tiredly. "Don't let him hear you say that." When she looked away sharply, he nudged her. "Hey," he said gently, smiling as he tipped her face up with his thumb. "This will be nothing like the last time we dealt with the Ori. It'll be OK."

She smiled weakly. "Well, if this is what it takes to get you to cuddle, then by all means feel free to get us captured more often."

He rolled his eyes, but smiled a little anyway.

The clang of something solid hitting the cell bars diverted their attention. Reynolds scrambled up from his place sitting by Ronon, picking up a small stick curiously. A face appeared through the bushes just outside the cell. Sergeant Stackhouse made several signals with his hands and tossed a block of C4 into the cell. Molding it around the lock, Reynolds mouthed, "Prior?"

"Rodney," Stackhouse whispered with a thumbs-up.

Pulling Daniel and Vala into their feet, Ronon pushed his three companions into the farthest corner as Stackhouse counted down silently and detonated the charges.

The town was a flurry of activity; secrecy was no longer an issue once the charge exploded and the dust cleared. "Did you get the Prior?" Stackhouse shouted to Lorne as they ran for the gate, weapons at the ready.

"No!" Lorne yelled back as he and his team met them on the path. "McKay's anti-Prior device worked for a few minutes, but not long enough for us to get his staff."

"He must have adapted to the frequency faster than we thought," Rodney screeched as he ran for his life, still making adjustments on the device. "I must have tried a hundred frequencies before I found the one that worked, and the weird thing is that it's in the range of frequencies that the wraith use in their transmitters and radio signals, which is why I don't think to try it at first. For some reason this Prior was able to shift faster than any other Prior encountered, at least from what I've read in mission reports –"

"McKay!" Lorne bellowed, glancing behind him. "Can't we talk about this later?"

Behind them, the Prior was walking towards them slowly but decisively, his face expressionless. Staff raised, he began to speak. "Cursed is the child who betrays his father, for he shall not live to seek the truth. So too will those who betray their creators be destroyed. Hallowed are the Ori."

"Dr. Jackson," Reynolds ordered, "dial the gate!"

But just as the Prior brought down his staff to strike the ground, a single wraith dart flew over, catching the Prior in the transport beam.

Daniel turned and stopped dialing in mid-sequence. "Um… what just happened?"

Sheppard's voice sounded in their ears. "Good afternoon, gentlemen. I've been trying to radio you guys for an hour."

Rodney snapped his fingers. "The anti-Prior device must have disrupted the dart's radio!"

"Thank you very much, McKay. If you all will kindly remain stationary for a moment, we're prepared to beam you to the _Daedalus_."

"Right on time, Colonel," Lorne said, shaking his head happily as the dart swooped in front of the stargate again and flew away. "Right on time."

…

As the three recon teams were beamed into the _Daedalus _bridge, they were greeted by Colonel Caldwell, Colonel Sheppard, Dr. Lee, and Todd.

"Now," said Sheppard. "Are we all back in one piece?"

"Looks like it," Reynolds nodded. "Thank you, sir."

Sheppard waved him off. "Don't mention it. Actually it wasn't really my idea." He turned to Todd somewhat uncomfortably.

"Wait," Rodney said, "why is everybody here? Shouldn't you be in Atlantis?"

"Well," Dr. Lee cringed, "we had a slight problem with the, uh, ZPM system."

Rodney blinked. "Oh, no. What did you do?"

"Nothing!"

"I leave you for a couple hours and you can't even keep it together for that long? This is just another show of your supreme incompetence." Dr. Lee rolled his eyes, but Rodney continued. "You didn't even have to do anything! I just told you to watch for anomalous power fluctuations!"

"Well, that's what I was doing, but then –"

"What," Rodney scoffed. "Don't tell me the entire city shut down."

"Well…"

"Please, Bill, that would be impossible. The transitional interface would have to be in exactly the right modulation at the precise instant –" He stopped suddenly. "Oh, no. Please tell me…"

"Sorry, Rodney," Lee shrugged. "The ZPM overloaded. It was just too much strain on the system."

Colonel Caldwell cleared his throat. "I hate to rush you, Dr. McKay, but if you can't come up with a way to sidestep this problem, you're not going back to Atlantis."

"But," Sheppard interjected, "I think we've got other problems to worry about first."

…

"Victory!" McKay cried triumphantly as he ran into the _Daedalus _commissary. "Colonel Sheppard, I give you our first spoil of war. A Prior staff."

Sheppard blinked, setting down his coffee mug. "I thought we already had one for you to play with."

"Aha, we had a staff from Area 51," McKay wagged a finger, holding up a gnarled wooden staff topped with a shimmering blue crystal. "But this one – this is different."

"OK…"

"We managed to beam the Prior from M75-771 and his staff out of the dart separately by expanding on a mistake Dr. Lee made a while back at the SGC when he reintegrated a mouse without its tail… but anyway, we've been picking this thing apart. Give me your gun."

Sheppard choked on his coffee. "What?"

Rolling his eyes, McKay snapped his fingers impatiently. "Just give me something. I need a blunt object."

"Here." He downed the last of his coffee and handed him the mug instead.

McKay shrugged. "I guess I wouldn't give me a loaded firearm either." With a swift strike, he brought the mug down on the round blue crystal in the staff, sending the silvery shattered fragments to the floor.

"McKay, what are you doing?" Sheppard cried.

"Look inside the egg." At Sheppard's amused glance, he shrugged. "What, do you have a better name? It looks like an egg."

"And what am I looking for?" Sheppard asked, standing up and leaning over to peer in.

"We found something unusual with the control system. I wanted you to be the first to see." He tilted the staff further towards Sheppard.

There, in the inner workings of the staff, was something that looked like a microchip combined with an Ancient control crystal. But lining the edges and extending outward to the edges of the egg was a strange slimy, colorless, organic-looking filament. Sheppard's eyebrows knitted as he looked from the crystal to McKay and back.

"It's wraith."


	4. Chapter 4

"This is interesting," Todd said, nodding appreciatively as he peered inside the fractured blue egg embellishing the Prior's staff. "I was not aware that the Ori were making use of our technology. This is a very good sign."

"Why?" asked Dr. Lee, prodding at the wraith substance surrounding the control crystal.

"Why?" Todd chuckled. "Why indeed. It may have slipped your notice that you are now working in conjunction with the leader of a fairly prominent wraith hive ship."

At Lee's still confused expression, Rodney sighed. "You know, for being a scientist, you can really be stupid sometimes."

"Being a wraith myself," Todd said with a sinister leer, "I am quite familiar with the technology. You have that to your advantage at least."

…

"All right, Dr. McKay, you have enough oxygen for several hours," said Colonel Caldwell as he settled into his seat on the _Daedalus _bridge, Sheppard and Dr. Lee at his side. "We're beaming you down."

Rodney gave a thumbs-up as best he could in the bulky gloves of the space suit. As he was beamed out of the ship and materialized in the Atlantis control room, he turned on his headlamp and shrugged. "Well, at least we picked a planet with gravity."

"Right," said Dr. Lee through the radio. "What you're going to do is head down to the ZPM control center –"

"I know what to do," McKay snapped. "Just give me a couple of hours. If I can't figure out what's wrong, then – _maybe _– I'll ask for your help. But don't get your hopes up. I'd have to be really desperate."

Dr. Lee was silent.

Rodney padded down the dark, echoing corridors until he reached the ZPM control center. "Planting charges," he announced as he fumbled with a block of C4, finally managing to stick it onto the door panel. He scurried around a corner and flicked the detonator shield off of the remote. "Detonating now." He squeezed his eyes closed, holding his hands to the sides of his space suit's helmet as if to cover his ears. "Why isn't anything happening?"

"Rodney," Sheppard said slowly, "I think you forgot to stick the detonator on."

"Oh. Right. That would be important with the, you know, detonating." He ran back, dug a small black box out of his pocket, and attached it to the plastic explosive molded on the door. Back around his corner, he repeated, "Detonating _now_," and activated the remote trigger.

The C4 ignited: when the dust cleared, the room was visible. "Wow," Rodney breathed as he scanned the charred remains of the chamber. "This is way worse than I thought. There's debris everywhere; the entire room's been burned.

"Turn on the camera," Sheppard ordered. When Rodney pressed a button on his helmet, the image of the room appeared on the _Daedalus _screens above. "It looks like someone set off a nuclear warhead in there! That's all from the overload?" he cried incredulously.

"This is way bigger than I expected. I'm pretty sure this is beyond repair."

"Pretty sure?"

"Are you seeing the same thing I am? I mean, it's bad," McKay said as he began brushing rubble aside. "I have to find the halon leak and flush out the life support on top of this." Suddenly he spotted a shock of orange amid the blackened shards of metal. "Look at this!" he cried. "The ZPMs are unharmed. If I can just reroute the power conduits – patch them through a new system and bypass the damaged bits – we should be up and running in no time."

"Good," said Colonel Caldwell. "Our long-range detectors just detected a ship headed straight for Atlantis. Looks like a hive ship."

"The wraith?" Rodney sputtered. "I thought they had problems of their own! Why are they attacking now?"

"I don't know, Doctor," Caldwell retorted, leaning over Major Marks' shoulder and examining the _Daedalus _sensors.

"But… it's only one hive ship, right? You guys can take that down in no time with you, you know, fancy Asgard weapons and stuff." He heard the subtle click of someone turning their radio to silent. "Right?" No one responded. "_Right_?" he yelped again, eyes darting anxiously about Atlantis' deserted corridors.

Caldwell finally responded. "Dr. McKay, I suggest you hurry. Major Marks just expanded the sensor grid and picked up three more blips two hours away."

"Oh, no," Rodney said. "No, no, no. Two hours, that's not nearly enough time!"

"You said we'd be up and running in no time," Sheppard butted in.

"Well, yes, but I was exaggerating!" McKay said, staring defiantly at the ceiling. "You of all people should know that at least 75 percent of what I say is exaggerated."

"85."

"You don't understand. I need new equipment, stuff you don't have with you on the _Daedalus _and I sure as hell don't have down here. I'm not a miracle worker; I can't just rebuild this city from the ashes!"

"What you think you can and can't do isn't my concern," Caldwell barked with an unsettling finality. "You have two hours. Fix it."

"Great," Rodney snapped, throwing his hands in the air. "This is great! Not only do I have to undo whatever Lee screwed up, I have absolutely no time to do it."

To settle McKay, Sheppard added, "We'll send a 302 back to Earth to get what you need. Just get to work, McKay."

…

The _Daedalus _passengers could just see one hive ship drawing closer and closer to the planet below. Colonel Caldwell watched, half curious and half suspicious, as Todd argued with Mr. Woolsey and Colonel Sheppard.

"They are not responding to my communication," Todd growled at the control station. "Why?"

"All the better," Mr. Woolsey interjected curtly, addressing Colonel Sheppard but seeming to ignore Todd's presence. "He could just as easily send the hives some secret code to incapacitate us and take Atlantis."

Todd threw a testy glance at Woolsey, his feeding hand flexing restlessly. "I assure you –"

"Your assurances mean nothing. Forgive me for being so adamant about my own personal safety."

"Come on, Woolsey," Sheppard interrupted. "Give it a rest." Ignoring his offended scoff, Sheppard turned to Todd. "Why isn't the hive responding?"

"I do not know," Todd said, turning his piercing gaze to the _Daedalus _window. "This… this is impossible." He paced quickly to the window, slapping Woolsey with the tail of his leather coat. "This ship is mine."

Sheppard narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "How can you tell?"

"There is an extra compartment along the hyperdrive core. It is unique to my ship. I…" He shrugged. "I may have borrowed some schematics during our last rendezvous."

Sheppard rolled his eyes. "I'll be angry about that later. So why is it coming to Atlantis?"

"I do not know," Todd said, shaking his head. "This was not by my orders."

Mr. Woolsey marched toward the window, his face contorted in alarm. "You mean to say that –"

"I mean to say nothing," Todd growled, bending his neck to stare imposingly down at Woolsey. "My ship was in geosynchronous orbit around the moon of a planet known to have been visited by the Ori. I was merely observing the planet's activity. It was very near M75-771; you must have seen it yourself when you flew my dart down to capture the Prior."

"How did it get here so quickly?" Sheppard demanded, stepping down to push his way between Todd and Woolsey.

Major Marks spoke up quickly. "Sir, the hive is powering weapons."

"We can't let them hit the city unprotected. Fire when ready," Caldwell called from his seat facing the window.

Todd stood completely still, his yellow-green eyes still focused on the window, neither sanctioning nor resisting the action.

The sound of weapons fire rang out. The lone hive ship continued on its course, seemingly unfazed by the _Daedalus_' attacks until an explosion filled the bridge with orange light. "Target is destroyed."

…

"Yes!" Rodney whispered and turned on his radio as the Atlantis lights faded in. "Colonel."

"Go ahead," answered Sheppard and Caldwell at the same time. They exchanged a glance; Caldwell shrugged apologetically and motioned for Sheppard to take charge.

"I've got it," McKay said. "The ZPMs aren't working yet, but at least I got the main power going. Doors, transport chambers, automatic lighting, etc. The air's breathable again, I got the all the halon filtered out."

"See," said Sheppard. "I told you you could do it."

"Can you activate the shield?" Caldwell asked quickly. "We still have three hives approaching."

Rodney sighed. "No, not without the ZPMs, and that system's almost completely fried. Sheppard, I…" He groaned, tossing down his tablet computer. "I need help."

Sheppard grinned mischievously. "What was that, McKay?"

"Just get Lee down here!" Rodney snapped.

Caldwell nodded to a Marine standing guard, who left to retrieve Dr. Lee. "We'll beam him down. But I should warn you, Dr. McKay –"

"I know, I know. An hour."

"We're still facing three hive ships, Doctor. Do your best."

McKay nodded resolutely. "I will."

…

"I just don't understand why the wraith would all of the sudden come running for Atlantis," Daniel said, raking a hand through his hair. "It doesn't make any sense – they have the Ori to deal with themselves, and even if they were trying to take over Atlantis, there wouldn't be any point. They don't have the Ancient gene, and they couldn't even get the gate to work." He glanced over at Vala, who was concentrating intently on her cup of blue Jell-O. "Seriously, Vala, don't you ever get tired of that stuff?"

Tilting her head in thought for a moment, she shrugged. "Nope!" she said, shoveling another spoonful into her mouth with a grin.

"Were you even listening?"

"Of course," she berated him with a smack on the shoulder. "You were talking about the wraith and why they want Atlantis something-or-other." She waved her spoon around as she spoke, "You know, Daniel, I believe I've finally perfected the art of listening when you're talking to yourself without actually having to participate in the conversation."

"Good for you," he said quickly. "But you have to admit that it really doesn't make any sense."

Vala shrugged. "Well, they must have some reason. It's not like they're running for Atlantis against their will."

Daniel was silent.

"What?" she asked. "Daniel? Hello? Wakey wakey!"

He caught the hand she waved in front of his eyes by the wrist. "Vala," he said slowly. "You might be right." Eyes unfocused but shifting quickly, calculating, he let go of her arm and stood up, running out of the room.

"Where are you going?" Unanswered, Vala sighed with a shrug, gulped down the last of her Jell-O, and followed him out.

…

"Colonel," Daniel cried as the doors to the bridge slid open. "Colonel Sheppard!" He stopped, resting his hands on his knees. "I figured it out."

"Figured what out?" Caldwell butted in, spinning his seat to face their new company.

"How much time do we have until the hives get here?"

"Just under forty-five minutes. Dr. Jackson, what's this about?"

"Get Todd in here. I think I know why the wraith are targeting Atlantis," Daniel said.

Sheppard nodded to a Marine standing to the side, who quickly left the bridge to retrieve Todd. "I'll contact McKay and Lee."

Major Marks interrupted their conversation, "Colonel Caldwell, there's another ship in range. I'm picking up an incoming transmission."

"Put it through," Caldwell ordered, turning to face the display screen as it flickered to life.

The face on the screen smiled in greeting. "What can I do to help?"

Sheppard's eyebrows shot upward. "Colonel Carter, this is a surprise."

"Same to you," she replied. "I thought you'd be down in Atlantis."

"Well… we had some minor technical difficulties. So, what's up?"

"We'd been trying to contact Atlantis for some time now, but our signal never went through, so we dropped in to see what the problem was. I finally managed to get Bill and Rodney on the radio. They said you guys could use some help."

"You can say that again," Caldwell scoffed. "We've got three hive ships on the way, and we have reason to believe they're running a collision course for Atlantis, prepared to attack anything in their way."

"And that's not it, Sam," Daniel interrupted, still standing by Sheppard. "We're recently discovered that the Ori have been taking wraith technology and splicing it with their own. I think –"

"My idea," Vala interrupted indignantly.

"_We _think," Daniel corrected with a sidelong glance, "that the wraith on the hive ships may not be in control. It's the Ori."

…

"That doesn't make any sense," Carter said, sitting at the chair in a _Daedalus _lab, the Prior staff on the table before her. Daniel sat by her side and Colonel Sheppard across the table, leaning back in his chair and silently watching them bicker. "Why would the Priors want to attack Atlantis?"

"That's exactly what I said. Look," Daniel said, his eyes slipping closed in thought. "Rodney said that the Ori have been utilizing certain frequencies which the wraith also use in radio signals, transmitters, et cetera. It makes sense that they could use their new knowledge of the wraith's technology to take over their ships."

"Well, yes, but –"

"Maybe it's a long shot," Daniel said, removing his glasses and pinching the bridge of his nose, "but it makes more sense that the Ori would want to destroy Atlantis than the wraith."

A low, rumbling voice interrupted them. "I don't think they want to destroy it," Ronon said, leaning against the doorframe.

"So…" Carter invited him to continue. "Why are they doing it?"

"Maybe they don't know how the ships work," Ronon shrugged. "This isn't their endgame. If they wanted the city destroyed, they wouldn't have bothered using the wraith to do it."

"Then why are they?" Daniel said, throwing up his hands and leaning back in his chair.

"Then I doubt the Prior is in control any more."

Carter shook her head. "The only way for a Prior to relinquish control involuntarily would be if he no longer had his staff."

"Which is exactly what just happened," Sheppard said slowly, snapping to attention and sitting up straight. He tapped his radio. "Stackhouse, this is Sheppard."

"Go ahead, Colonel," Stackhouse responded through the radio.

"Is the Prior from M75-771 in Holding?"

"Yes, sir. I've got a full security team guarding the cell."

"Thank you." Sheppard turned back to the group. "P3X-447 is in the same solar system as M75-771. It's a wraith homeworld. The sensors picked up three ships orbiting it when we arrived."

Carter's eyes widened. "You think the Prior hijacked the ships orbiting P3X-447."

"When the Prior saw us, he must have recognized where we were from and sent off whatever ships he could reach," Sheppard said. "And since we smashed his staff, he can't tell them to stop in orbit when they get there. That would explain Todd's ship, too. He was in the area keeping an eye on the other hives when Teyla contacted him."

"That does make sense," Carter admitted.

The group exchanged glances. "Time?" Sheppard asked.

Daniel checked his watch. "Thirty-five minutes."

"Well," he said, standing up and brushing his pants off, "It looks like I've got some interrogating to do."


	5. Chapter 5

"So," Sheppard said, hands in his pockets and rocking back and forth on his heels. "You got a name?"

The Prior stood silently, eyes staring blankly ahead through the cell wall.

"I didn't think so. I'm going to go with Larry. Sound good?"

Again the Prior ignored him.

"So, Larry. I hear you've been stealing technology from the wraith."

"To gather knowledge in pursuit of the truth is not theft, but spreading of the word," Larry said vacantly.

"I see. Well, my friends and I think that somehow you and your buddies can control wraith ships. Is that true?"

The Prior clasped his hands in front of him, remaining silent.

"You'd better start talking," Sheppard said threateningly, his voice turning guttural as he took a step forward. "I've been this side of the bars too many times before. I will kill you if you don't tell me something I can use."

"To die," said the Prior, his chin thrust boldly upward, "is not to cease existence. It is to rise up greater than before, to thrive on the promise of ascension as granted by our Creators."

"That's a lie, and you know it. I have half an hour before Atlantis is destroyed. Give me _something_."

The Prior turned his head sharply, his eyes locked with Sheppard's. "The city of the Ancients must not fall."

Sheppard cocked his head, stepping forward again, so close that he could reach out a hand and grab the Prior's throat if there was no shield covering the spaces between the bars. "Now we're getting somewhere. Why do you want the city?"

But the Prior was silent again.

Sheppard glanced over his shoulder and nodded to the Marines standing on either side of the door. One waved his hand over the panel, allowing Todd to enter, lips bared in a sinister grin.

Sheppard turned back to the Prior. "This is Todd. His ship – one of the ships you and your brainwashed thugs set on a collision course for Atlantis – was destroyed. As you can imagine, he's not very happy that we had to shoot it down. Normally we like to keep Todd on a fairly tight leash around here, but if you don't cooperate…" Sheppard gestured vaguely as Todd stepped closer, leering at the Prior through the cell bars. "Todd might get an unexpected snack break. Tell me, Larry. Have you ever seen a wraith feed on its prey?"

The Prior remained silent, his glassy eyes still expressionless, though there was a hint of tension in his stance. Todd stretched his feeding hand eagerly.

"Call the ships off."

"Such a thing cannot be done without a staff," the Prior said, his eyes locked with Sheppard's again.

Hesitating slightly, Sheppard pursed his lips in displeasure. "Corporal," he said over his shoulder to a Marine by the door, "Get the staff. Todd and I will escort our friend here to the bridge."

…

The Prior stood at the window of the bridge, flanked by a team of guards and held in place by two more. A Marine entered bearing the Prior's staff, the blue "egg" cracked open.

"The staff is damaged," said Larry, but took it anyway when Todd leaned closer with a menacing growl.

"Ships are in range," said Major Marks. "No indication of weapons power."

Sheppard, watching the three blips on the radar draw closer, nodded to Todd. "Cover him."

The guards yanked the Prior around to face Todd, perpendicular to the window. Todd ripped back his sleeve and placed his hand just above the Prior's chest.

"What is this?" demanded Mr. Woolsey. "Colonel Sheppard, you can't just –"

"Shut up, Woolsey," Sheppard snapped, marching down to the captive Prior. "Todd, if he makes any wrong moves, kill him. Understand?"

"Perfectly," Todd said with an evil grin, his fingertips coming to rest on the Prior's chest.

"Call the ships off," Sheppard demanded. "Now!"

"Twenty minutes to collision," Carter said quietly.

The Prior gripped the staff as if to comply, but as soon as his eyes closed in concentration, they opened again. "I cannot."

"What do you mean you can't?" Sheppard cried.

"The staff is damaged."

"Yes, I know, the scientists broke the egg to see what was inside." The Prior cocked his head in confusion, making Sheppard roll his eyes. "The egg. The blue thing on top."

The Prior merely repeated himself. "The staff is damaged."

Their eyes locked for one steely moment until Sheppard ordered, "Beam Lee and Rodney up. I want them to look at this."

…

"So, correct me if I'm wrong here," said Sheppard to Lee, Rodney, and Daniel. "The egg thingy doesn't have anything to do with the staff actually working."

"Of course not," McKay snapped. "That wouldn't make any sense at all."

"So why isn't it working?"

"I don't know!"

Daniel frowned, edging closer to look at the staff on the table. "You're sure the Prior isn't just screwing with us? I mean, he could just be stalling."

"No," Rodney shook his head. "Normally I'd be inclined to agree with you, but the power readings are all wrong. Usually when a Prior touches his staff, there's a minute power spike." He held up his tablet computer, a wave pattern displayed. "But it didn't show up."

"Plus," Sheppard added, "you didn't see him when I told him the ships were going to crash into Atlantis. He freaked."

"Freaked?" Daniel asked skeptically.

Sheppard shrugged. "He… well, he kind of cocked his head. Like Teal'c. But less."

"So," Daniel said, "if the staff really is damaged, couldn't we just give him the staff from Area 51?"

Rodney shook his head fervently. "No way. There's a million reasons why that would be completely insane, catastrophic in every sense of the word."

"So can we substitute the control system?" Sheppard asked.

"I don't think so," Rodney said. "Not without damaging the wraith… stuff," he gestured vaguely.

"Dr. McKay is correct," said Todd, prodding at the strands of wraith material with a black, distorted fingernail. "You could not replace the entire contents with duplicates from another staff. That would destroy it, without a doubt. However, if the crystal alone was removed for examination, I believe the filaments might survive."

"Right," McKay said. "So, I'm going to remove the crystal now."

"Be careful," advised Dr. Lee, standing at his side.

"Yes, I know that!" McKay snapped. Taking a deep, steadying breath, he picked up a pair of thin metal tongs. Carefully he pulled up the wraith material bordering one edge of the crystal. Dr. Lee handed him another instrument when he waved his free hand; he pushed another side away from the crystal. Lee stepped forward cautiously, reaching under Rodney's arm to grasp the crystal. Pushing a finger under the slimy layer, he pried the crystal up and out of its hold. Setting the tongs down, he breathed a sigh of relief and sent a contorted half-smile at Dr. Lee. "Thanks."

…

"I found it!" McKay hollered, running into the bridge. "I found the problem. I know why the Prior can't stop the ships."

"Go ahead," Colonel Caldwell said, his eyes never leaving the bridge window. "The hives are just visible now."

"I was able to pry out the control crystal," McKay said, holding it up. "Larry was right. It was damaged. I think our hypothesis that the wraith material is tapping into the ship's control system is correct. But the crystal is chipped." He held it up, pointing to an infinitesimal flaw in the clear surface. "I'm guessing we accidentally chipped it when we –"

"Dr. McKay," Caldwell snapped. "Can you stop the ships?"

"No. Not with the control crystal. But I got another idea – when Sheppard flew down to M75-771 to pick us up from Agora, the anti-Prior device was interfering with the dart's radio. He couldn't contact us at all. So, I'm thinking if we can expand the range of the device and find just the right frequency, it should disrupt the hive ships' course and stop them entirely. Then you can, you know, shoot them down or whatever it is that you… well… do."

Caldwell smirked. "Good work, Doctor."

…

Major Marks glanced restlessly from his station. "Sir," he said, scanning the screen as he spoke. "The hives are powering weapons. There's still no life signs aboard; they must be coming on automatically."

Caldwell nodded curtly and activated his radio. "All personnel, return to designated stations and brace for impact. Marks, prepare weapons."

"Done, sir."

"Fire at will; prepare for impact."

The hive ship nearest to the _Daedalus _opened fire; the exchange of energy bursts struck the _Daedalus _hull.

A fountain of sparks erupted behind the group of scientists. "What?" Rodney squeaked, glancing feverishly at Colonel Carter and Dr. Lee, both hunched over the anti-Prior device on the table in front of them. "What's happening?"

"Work faster," Carter snapped. She reached across him and connected two cables, hooking the anti-Prior device to a naquadah generator.

"Any time now, Doctors," Caldwell added as he sat and gripped the armrests of his chair.

"It's not ready yet!" McKay snapped. "If we activate the device too quickly it won't work and we'll have to start all over."

"Shields are at 70%," Major Marks announced. "Firing now." Another blow rocked the _Daedalus. _"Shields at 60%. Two minutes until the hives reach the atmosphere. Sir, if they get that far, the blast radius would destroy Atlantis."

"_Daedalus_, this is _Hammond_," the radio crackled. "We've got two of the hives on us; our shields are failing." An explosion echoed through the earpiece. "Shields are down. Repeat, shields are down. We're venting atmosphere!"

"Move to intercept," Caldwell ordered to his men. "Fire all batteries. _Do not let that ship go down, airmen_!"

The _Daedalus _moved in between the hive ships and the _Hammond_, taking the brunt of the blow. The hives, despite their targets' change in position, kept moving towards the planet and farther from the Earth ships. Their weapons grew less accurate, the fleet sill on a collision course for Atlantis.

Colonel Carter raced into the bridge carrying an anti-Prior device, Lee and McKay trailing her bearing generators. "Now!" Carter ordered.

One microscopic second passed; the last wraith blast rocketed past the _Daedalus_' shields, and the hive ships ceased motion, hovering in space.

…

The _Daedalus _and _Hammond_ orbited Atlantis, which was for once quiet as it rode on the gentle waves.

Colonel Carter and Teyla strode into the control room of the city where a number of Atlantis personnel stood. "Well, the hive ships have been sent back, thanks largely to Teyla and Todd's negotiations."

"So he's finally gone?" Woolsey said, his lips tight.

"Well, not exactly," Carter admitted. "Todd requested that he be allowed to stay here on a temporary basis. After his crew being killed and his ship destroyed, I think he wants the Ori gone as much as we do."

Woolsey moved to protest, but instead sighed heavily. "Colonel Sheppard signed off on this, I suppose."

"Yes," she said with an apologetic shrug.

Teyla added, "I am sure Todd will be under careful supervision. But personally, I doubt he would try anything now."

The silence was tense for a moment, but Woolsey admitted begrudgingly, "I suppose Sheppard knows what he's doing."

"So," Carter said, glancing around the room. "If there's nothing else, I'm turning in for the night."

Mr. Woolsey shook his head. "Sheppard's not answering his radio, but I doubt anything requires your immediate attention."

Carter nodded and bade them good night, followed to the living quarters by a number of other tired soldiers.

…

"Ah! Sam!" Rodney said as he jogged to catch up with her.

"Rodney," she said with a smile. "How are you?"

"Good, very good. Glad to be back here. And you? What with the _Hammond _on missions, I haven't seen you in what, six months? Everything going well?"

"Yes, actually, it's been great. The _Hammond_'s an amazing ship, just like her namesake." She paused for a moment, a wistful smile surfacing as they came to a halt at Rodney's quarters. "It's been good working with you again, Rodney."

"You too," he said quietly. He turned to enter his quarters, but stopped and spun to face her again. "Just so you know," he began gruffly, hands stuffed in his pockets, "I think it's best that we forget about whatever sexual tension we may have experienced in the past."

Carter scoffed.

"Sam," he said seriously, laying a hand on her shoulder as if he were lecturing a young child. "I'm a happily married man now. I'll admit," he shrugged, "that we've had our moments of potential, and I will always be here for you. But now I think it's best if we leave that all behind." He paused for a moment, scrutinizing her bemused expression.

"I'm sorry if my advances made you uncomfortable," she said, failing to hold back a grin.

"Please, Sam. Let's just put it behind is. Is that all right?"

"Yes, Rodney. I think I'll survive."

"Good." He patted her shoulder awkwardly, then drew his hand back to fidget at his side. "Good."

Sam nodded curtly. "Good night."

"Right," he said quickly, then turned and fled into his quarters.

Sam shook her head slowly. "Rodney, you are a strange, strange man," she said to herself as she continued down the hall.

…

Sheppard stood on the balcony, leaning against the railing and staring out at the moons hovering against the black sky. His black jacket and radio lay forgotten by the door. When the door slid open and quiet, crisp footsteps sounded, he didn't bother turning around to see who had entered. "Elizabeth used to come out here," he said quietly to his guest. "To think, I guess."

Mr. Woolsey approached calmly, taking his place beside Colonel Sheppard at the railing. "You miss her," he said gently.

Sheppard nodded, his eyes never leaving the horizon. "I never imagined being in her shoes."

Neither spoke for a moment, drinking in the cool, still night air. Woolsey sighed quietly, straightening his deep red tie to occupy his fingers. "I wanted to apologize, Colonel." Sheppard didn't respond, but he continued the plunge. "I know how difficult it is to command this city, and I think I've been harsher than necessary. I've fought your every decision, and… well, I'm sorry. I allowed my formal position and my...well, my fear of being criticized myself, to interfere with my better judgment."

Sheppard still remained quiet until he said suddenly, "I didn't want to come back at first."

"Why did you?"

"Teyla. We got to talking about everyone, what had happened while I was gone. She reminded me that I'm really not the jaded type – I'd thrown away everything I knew and I realized that pretending my years on Atlantis never happened wouldn't make it better." He paused for a shaky exhale, finally turning to face Woolsey. "I know I gave you quite an earful when I left. I'm the one who should be apologizing."

Woolsey simply shook his head with a slight smile.

"Why did _you _come back?" Sheppard asked. "I heard you'd been removed from SGC oversight."

Woolsey glanced down at the ocean below. "When I was relieved of my command, I was subjected to an extensive review of my actions. I lost almost all of the power I had gained within the IOA – I was given minor domestic jobs, my security clearance almost nonexistent. Shen tried to help, but she was tied up at her end in China. I…" He shook his head with a chuckle. "I suppose I missed Atlantis. I've become rather nostalgic in my old age," he joked, but his tone sobered immediately. "I've pulled my last string there is to pull. This will be my last stand as a member of the IOA." When he looked at Sheppard, his eyes were serious but calm. "Good night, Colonel."

And so Sheppard was left alone, back on Elizabeth Weir's balcony. He sighed contentedly, patting the railing as if she was there with him, before turning in for the night.


	6. Chapter 6

Chuck rubbed his bleary eyes and squinted at the computer screen. "I hate night shifts," he mumbled, laying his head down on the desk. Another few seconds passed, and he looked up again. Still nothing. He nearly drifted off but jolted himself awake after nearly falling out of his chair. He gave the screen another cursory glance, leaned back in his chair, and abruptly sat up again. "What the…" he trailed off as he leaned closer to the screen, suddenly wide awake. "Colonel Sheppard," he said briskly into his radio. "I'm picking up a weird bogey on the sensors."

A few silent seconds passed before a groggy voice responded, "What is it?"

"Honestly, sir," Chuck said, shaking his head slowly, "I have no idea."

…

"I hope there's an actual emergency."

"I'm sure they wouldn't have woken us up if there wasn't," Daniel said sternly, attempting to quiet Vala down as Atlantis' personnel dragged themselves out of bed for a late-night impromptu meeting.

"All right," Vala said as she waltzed into the control room, tugging Daniel behind her and pulling the last stray rollers out of her hair. "I demand an explanation. What is so important that you had to wake us up during our first full night of sleep in a week?"

"We've picked up an anomalous reading," Chuck said. "It doesn't seem to match anything we've encountered before."

"But Daniel and I had just gotten into bed," Vala grumbled.

"Separately," Daniel added loudly.

She pursed her lips, turning to berate him. "My dear, not _everything _I say is sexual innuendo."

He raised his eyebrows.

"Well," she said with a guilty shrug. "Maybe just a little."

Sheppard rolled his eyes indiscreetly, turning from the bickering pair. "Chuck, bring it up on the screen, please."

As the sensor image appeared, Rodney drew closer and pointed at the small red spot above the city. "That's strange. It's hovering over the control tower, but it's too small to be a ship." When the room fell silent, he looked down suddenly at his Superman pajamas. "What?! You said it was important! I didn't have time to change!" Stifled laughs made him roll his eyes furiously. "Like you never watched Superman!"

"Or thought I _was _Superman," Ronon muttered under his breath.

"There are no records in the database?" Sheppard demanded, returning the conversation to the matter at hand.

Chuck shook his head. "None. I'm sorry, sir, but I have absolutely no idea what this is. It just came up out of nowhere."

"Alien objects don't just pop up out of nowhere. Did you check for power readings?"

"It's putting out a very low EM field. But I don't know what its purpose is."

"Find out," Sheppard ordered. "Break time's over, everyone. As of now we're officially in high alert mode. Dr. Lee, get every reading you can on that thing. McKay and I will take a jumper up and get a closer look. The rest of you, I want a full sweep of the city. Head count, suspicious activity, computer malfunctions, anything. If there's something wrong with this city, we'll find it. Understood?" He didn't want for an answer. "Good. Get to work. And Rodney," he paused momentarily. "Put some real clothes on."

…

Rodney glanced up from his work at the sound of quiet footsteps. "Hey, Jen," he said tiredly. He ran a hand down his cheek and took the coffee mug she held out. "Thanks."

"Long day?" his wife asked sympathetically.

"Considering how I got about five minutes of sleep, yes." He took a long drain from his mug, casting his tablet aside for the moment. "I have to find out what this sphere thing does."

She peered over at his computer screen, rubbing his back. "Come on, Rodney, you've got time. They can't expect you to figure it out in two days."

"Oh, trust me, they can." They fell silent for a moment, Rodney curling his achy fingers around the mug as she loosened the tension in his back. "I'm sorry I haven't spent much time with you," he said.

Jennifer smiled. "Don't worry about it. We knew you'd be busy here."

"I know, but I feel like –"

"Rodney, it's fine. You're doing your job. I'm just lucky that my job isn't all that intensive yet."

"Yeah," Rodney scoffed. "Yet."

Jennifer moved to sit beside him, her mouth in a tight smile. "Actually, there's something I wanted to talk to you about…"

Colonel Sheppard jogged into the room, interrupting her. "Answers, Rodney," he said, prodding his friend in the side.

McKay shook his head. "I don't have any."

"Yet?" Sheppard prompted optimistically.

Rodney threw up his hand with a groan. "I don't know, Sheppard. Lee's searching the database for the third time; I've run every test we have, and I even asked Sam to look over the results too, but she's just as stumped as I am."

"You asked for help? Voluntarily?" Jennifer exclaimed jokingly.

"Yeah, well, I didn't really have any other choice." He set his mug on the desk, smacking his hand down to keep it from sliding off. "These readings are constant. Nothing in the city is malfunctioning." He smacked his hand down again. "I'm not making any prog–" He stopped suddenly. "Wait a minute." He experimentally took his hand off of the coffee mug. It slid down to the end of the table, where Sheppard caught it deftly. Rodney snapped his fingers. "That shouldn't happen."

"We're floating on the ocean," Sheppard shrugged. "Doesn't the city shift or something?"

"No," Rodney said. "The city has inertial dampeners just like ships do. That's why no one ever gets seasick. Look at this," he typed something into his laptop and beckoned Sheppard over, pointing to the changing numbers and jagged lines crossing the screen. "The gravitational sensors are going crazy. It's like something is physically pulling the city to one side… You don't think that's the sphere, do you?"

Sheppard's expression of concern grew into a grin. "I knew you could do it, Rodney!" He clapped his friend on the back and jogged back out of the control room.

"Well, what do you want me to do about it?" Rodney called after him, voice rising an octave or so.

"I don't know, fix it," Sheppard replied over his shoulder.

Rodney sat in silence for a moment. "Great."

Jennifer laughed, kissed him on the forehead and left him to his science. "Have fun."

"Oh, hey," he stopped her. "What was it you were going to tell me?"

She stopped at the door, one hand resting on the wall, and shook her head. "Nothing urgent," she smiled slightly. "I'll see you tonight."

Rodney watched her leave quietly, then turned back to his work.

…

"Maybe it's friendly," Mr. Woolsey suggested, setting his pen on the conference room table. "We don't know that whoever sent the sphere intends to harm us."

"Who could possibly want to alter the gravitational field of an inhabited planet?" McKay demanded.

"They might not know we're here."

"Any civilization with technology capable of creating whatever that thing is would know we're here. Our power readings alone are out the wazoo."

"All right, cool it, everybody," Sheppard intervened. "We don't know where it came from. Does anyone _else _have any ideas?"

"Ancients," Dr. Lee piped up, expression pensive as he tapped a pen on his chin. When he was answered only with blank stares, he shrugged. "What? They left stuff behind, right? It might have been… you know… stuck in transit or something and it just now got here."

"OK," Sheppard said slowly. "We'll call that a maybe. Anyone else?"

"Well," said Carter. "We're assuming it doesn't come from the Ori."

"Technology doesn't match," Rodney confirmed.

"The Tollen are dead. I think we'd know if it came from the Goa'uld or the Tok'ra. Even the Genii aren't this advanced yet."

"I know of some other civilizations who might be at this level of technology," Daniel offered, rifling through a stack of paper. "I'll have to check my notes."

Suddenly one of the conference room doors swung open and Chuck ran in, eyes wide. "Colonel Sheppard, the sensors have just picked up five hive ships."

"Damn it, why can't we ever get them to go away?" He ran a frustrated hand through his hair. "When will they be here?"

"Just over seventy-two hours."

Sheppard ruffled his hair again and pushed his chair back in frustration. "I'll set up contact with our Pegasus allies and have the SGC do the same. Dr. Jackson, get back to me with a list as soon as you can. Dismissed."

…

"How's it coming?" Sheppard said as he entered the control room.

Chuck shrugged glumly. "Hive ships are still approaching."

They both lurched forward suddenly, grabbing onto the machines in front of them for support. Sheppard grimaced as the city shook for another few seconds, then creaked and settled.

"Any contact from Earth?" Sheppard asked tensely.

"No, sir, not yet. We're expecting a call in about an hour."

Sheppard nodded in response and walked out to the balcony overlooking the gate room.

"John?"

The warm, quiet voice appeared beside him as if from nowhere. "Teyla," he greeted her. In the absence of anything else to say, he added, "How's the kid?"

"Very good. Soon," she said with a wistful smile, "he will be a mighty warrior for his people."

Sheppard laughed good-naturedly. "He'll be grown up before you know it."

"Indeed he will." Teyla smiled at his sincerity. "Come. Let us spar."

…

Teyla crossed to the center of the room with two pairs of bantos rods and smirked as Sheppard barely caught the pair she tossed to him. "Well, then, shall we?"

"Bring it," he challenged, hopping around the mat and giving his rods a few testing flicks.

Teyla stood serenely, rods at the ready and breaths rising deeply. She was poised, focused, as she circled around him, and Sheppard was determined to beat her. She twisted one rod around her hand, bringing it upward to deflect his first feint.

Sheppard settled quickly into the rhythm of the fight. His movements were not as crisp as they had once been. He was in prime physical shape, but had rarely if ever found the occasion to spar over the past three years. His opponent continued to deflect his every stab in a whirlwind of motion.

"Jeez, Teyla," he cursed. "Have you been going easy on me all this time?"

"Of course not," she snapped, smacking him soundly on the back as she spun around him. "You have not been practicing."

"Touché." A well-timed twist repelled her last attack.

"Colonel," Rodney called, running into the gym and brandishing his tablet computer. "Colonel, we have a major problem."

"Great, another one," Sheppard snapped, hopping up and down as the fight concluded prematurely.

"I hoped that whatever signal the sphere is sending out wouldn't be strong enough, that it would just tilt the city a little. The inertial dampeners would have kept the city from inclining too sharply, but –"

"Rodney, get to the point, please."

"It's a lot more effective than we thought. The sphere's gravitational pull is actually physically moving Atlantis across the planet."

"And that's a problem."

"At this rate," Rodney said, his face creased in worry, "the city will crash into the mainland in three days."

"That's not the only problem," Ronon said, appearing with Chuck in the doorway and slouching against the wall.

"Naturally," Sheppard snapped, setting down his rods and wiping his face with a towel. He cursed to himself as the ground shook beneath him, the city letting out a loud creak.

"Sir," said Chuck tentatively, "we found more hive ships."

A sigh heavier than intended escaped as he rested his hands on his hips and let his head fall. "How many?"

"Seven," Ronon grinned. "This should be fun."


End file.
